1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a male/female fluid coupling with a radial seal and, more particularly, to a highly reliable fluid coupling suitable for sealably maintaining fluid pressure after repeated mating and unmating operations.
2. Description of the Background
Conventional male/female couplings have long been used to sealingly join pressurized fluid lines. The coupling halves, when joined, automatically enable the fluid and/or fluid pressure to be transmitted through the coupling without a significant pressure differential. When unmated, the valve poppet in the body of each coupler half automatically seals the fluid within each coupler body and its respective fluid line. Such couplers are able to reliably maintain high fluid pressure after repeated mating and unmating operations.
The seal between the joined coupling halves may conventionally be provided by either an elastomeric or metallic member. One type of coupler suitable for reliably interconnecting fluid lines employs a metallic face seal. Sealing engagement is provided by a metallic seal sandwiched between surfaces of the coupler halves, with each sealing surface being generally perpendicular to the axis of the coupler. Other types of couplers employ metallic radial seals which are sealingly responsive to fluid pressure. In some applications, metallic radial seals are preferred in couplers over metallic face seals.
Current designs for metallic radial seal couplers are, however, susceptible to poor reliability. The male cylindrical surface to be engaged by the radial seal is poor, and retainers for the seals are susceptible to blowout under high pressure pulsations.
Coupler halves are frequently mounted in close proximity to reduce the space required to couple multiple lines. In subsea applications as shown in Ser. No. 126,033, for example, the overall diameter of the cylindrical-shaped coupler effectively controls the required size of a control module mounting base, and thus the overall cost of the subsea installation. A reliable subsea coupler is of primary importance, although a preferred coupler would frequently also have a reduced diameter.
A further disadvantage of prior art couplers relates to the high manufacturing costs for the coupler components in order to ensure reliable sealing engagement in hostile environments. A preferred coupler design thus will repeatedly and reliably both seal fluids beings transmitted through the coupler from the surrounding environment, will seal the surrounding environment from the interior fluids, and will accomplish these goals at a reduced manufacturing cost for the coupler.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved highly reliable coupler is hereinafter described suitable for sealably maintaining fluid pressure in both the coupled and uncoupled conditions after repeated mating and unmating operations.